Politics

• Thursday, April 24th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  US supports South American Defence council proposal

  The Brazilian proposal for a South American Defence Council is considered “interesting” by United States but Washington has no immediate reaction to the issue said Thomas Shannon, US Under Secretary of State for Latinamerica, according to an interview published in the Sao Paulo financial newspaper, Valor.

• Thursday, April 24th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Paraguay: progressive president and conservative congress

  Paraguay's President-elect Fernando Lugo will face a largely conservative Congress that may make carrying out his reforms difficult, according to the vice president-elect Federico Franco.

• Wednesday, April 23rd 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Bachelet calls for a regional security and defence policy

  Chilean president Michelle Bachelet invited Army chiefs from Mercosur and associate countries to consider the development of a common security and defense policy for Latinamerica.

• Wednesday, April 23rd 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Argentine farmers frustrated with government tactics

  Argentine farmers and government officials couldn't reach an agreement Tuesday on wheat taxes triggering fears of a revival of the three week protests which caused food shortages and a major political challenge to the administration of Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner.

• Wednesday, April 23rd 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Paramilitary links closer to Colombian president Uribe

  In spite of running on a sustained high wave of public opinion support, --the best performance of any leader in the Americas--, Colombia's Alvaro Uribe this week faced a major challenge when his cousin, political ally and former Senator Mario Uribe Escobar was taken into custody for allegedly colluding with rightwing paramilitary groups.

• Wednesday, April 23rd 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Elected Paraguayan president confirms Mercosur membership

  Elected president Fernando Lugo, who takes office on August 15, pledged to maintain Paraguay's membership in the Mercosur trade block, which includes Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay, and strengthen integration mechanisms. He also announced he would seek relations with Beijing, currently non existent.

• Tuesday, April 22nd 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Paraguayan president Duarte will lead block in next Senate

  Paraguayan president Nicanor Duarte said on Monday he's considering resigning before August 15, when his mandate expires, which means vice president Francisco Oviedo would then be in charge of passing the sash to elected president Fernando Lugo.

• Tuesday, April 22nd 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Colombia confirms full support to tough anti guerrilla policy

  Colombia's President Alvaro Uribe and, to a lesser extent, Ecuador's Rafael Correa were the Latinamerican leaders with the greatest approval rating in March according to the latest public opinion poll from the renowned consultants Mitofsky with results published in the Mexican press on Monday.

• Tuesday, April 22nd 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  “Silent tsunami” threatens 100 million people with hunger

  The head of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) called for urgent action to tackle the “silent tsunami” of rising food prices which threatens to push more than 100 million people worldwide into hunger.

• Tuesday, April 22nd 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Argentina indicts Uruguayan expatriate for the grass fires

  A Uruguayan farm handy man, Sergio Amable Salvador Vera, 62, became the first person to be indicted this week for starting the grassland fires that produced the recent blanketing with smoke of Argentina's capital Buenos Aires city.